History
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One can hardly shake a loyalty for Saint Leo’s parish—it runs through people’s veins as much as their Italian ethnicity.
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Vintage Photo gallery
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ST. LEO THE GREAT - established 1881
listed in 1983 on National Register of Historic PlacesANCHOR OF 'THE NEIGHBORHOOD'
Along with their skimpy possessions, a few lira and scruffy travel cases, the Italians also brought to America their sturdy Catholic faith. Once settled in Baltimore, they needed and wanted to put into action an even deeper devotion to God. They asked the Almighty Father to help them with homesickness, find employment, and adjust to a new way of life in a strange land.
The lots for St. Leo's Church were purchased in June 1880 and construction began shortly thereafter. The cornerstone was laid on September 12, 1880, and when the ground floor reached a height of 10-feet, parishioners begged the pastor to hold Mass in the basement before the building was finished - to which he agreed. The church building was dedicated one year later in September 1881.
As the social and spiritual focus of Baltimore's Italian community, St. Leo's was the natural center for a variety of mutual aid societies, citizenship classes, and social service and community action organizations. The parish has been the nucleus of Little Italy since it was built, and that notion persists today.
The cornerstone represented a concept much more significant over the next century and a half than a chunk of concrete. For not only did it provide a tangible foundation for the church’s physical structure, it provided an emotional foundation for the Italian immigrants. For most arriving in Baltimore, St. Leo's was the major institutional entry into American cultural, social, political and economic life - helping them acclimate to their new lives and situations in America - as well as being able to attend Masses said in the Italian language.
Many former residents of Little Italy say that one never really moves out of the neighborhood. As well, one can hardly shake a loyalty for St. Leo’s Church – it remains embedded in people’s hearts as much as their Italian ethnicity. The congregation of St. Leo’s is a classic depiction of famiglia. St. Leo's Church is significant both architecturally and for its association with 19th-century Italian immigration and the establishment of Baltimore's Italian community. It is the first church in Maryland, and among the first in the nation, founded and built specifically for Italian immigrants.
LITTLE ITALY
Immigrants from Italy began arriving in Baltimore in the early 19th century, and continued in a small but steady flow through the 1850's. They settled around President Street near the area today known as Little Italy. After the Civil War, immigration from Italy burgeoned. While some new arrivals were coming from all parts of Italy, most were artisans and laborers from Naples, Abruzzi and Sicily. They continued to settle along President, Albemarle, Stiles and Exeter Streets. By 1870, between one-third and one-half of that area's population was Italian, this eventually earning its name, Little Italy.
These devout Catholics sought out the nearest Catholic church, at that time St. Vincent de Paul on North Front Street (now our partner parish). Beginning in 1874, St. Vincent de Paul sponsored Italian Masses, yet it was not adequate to handle such a large influx of non-English-speaking congregants, nor was it conveniently located for the Italians. Therefore, the Archdiocese of Baltimore decided to establish an all-Italian parish, as it had earlier for Irish and German immigrants. The Archdiocese knew the importance of the roles of these ethnic churches to help acclimate immigrants and assist in their assimilation.
THE BUILDING'S ARCHITECTURE
Architecturally, the church building represents an unusual mix of Italianate, Romanesque and Classical elements, and is a good example of High Victorian eclecticism applied to a church. Designed by E. Francis Baldwin, it represents the work of a major figure in late 19th century Baltimore architecture. It also presents an interesting contrast with the bulk of Baldwin's better-known work, which was in commercial and industrial architecture. Baldwin was one of Baltimore's foremost architects in the late nineteenth century. St. Leo's presents an unusual and interesting example of his early work, contrasting sharply in style and scale with his mature work.